


Skidamarink a dink a dink

by Starjargon



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Age Regression/De-Aging, Crack Treated Seriously, Families of Choice, Feels, Fluff, Fury and Steve compete in dramatics, Gen, Happy Ending, Humor, Hydra (Marvel), Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Infertility, Kid Fic, Magical Healing Experience, Minor Character Death, Not Really Character Death, Not as dark as some tags make it seem, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:55:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28887963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starjargon/pseuds/Starjargon
Summary: Clint and Natasha arrive at a Hydra base just in time to extract their fellow SHIELD agents.Who are currently all children.Great.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers (mentioned)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 37
Collections: Charity Hawktion 2020





	1. Uhhh... Oops?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kalika_999](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kalika_999/gifts).



> Written for the 2020 Charity Hawktion. Thank you for your participation, suggestions, and patience.
> 
> NB: The STRIKE team featured are all simply SHIELD agents and not double-crossing Hydra agents, so Rumlow and Rollins are good. Most of this story is just an excuse for kid!fic fluff with the characters requested by the prompter.
> 
> Considering the various ages of many of the Littles in my life, many of the issues Clint and Natasha face are from reality.  
> Such as the song that's now stuck in your head if you read the title of this story and have any Littles in your own life.
> 
> Beta'd by the magnificent and patient [ eachpeachpearplum ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EachPeachPearPlum/pseuds/EachPeachPearPlum).

Fury’s in his office when Sharon Carter enters on behalf of Margaret Carter herself, informing one of the few people aware of their relationship that her aunt has just been kidnapped. The intelligence she’d been able to gather so far had pointed to an _actual_ _remnant_ of Hydra, so she asks the director if she could have a team to rescue the SHIELD founder.

Fury stares at her with that serious demeanour, speeding through the file she’s handed him. Then, he immediately summons Rogers, telling the Captain about Agent 13's discoveries. Steve immediately demands to be part of the team.

“Can you keep your personal feelings in check, Rogers?”

“My feelings aside, I know how to be a professional, _as I’ve proven before_ , Nick,” he challenges.

Fury grabs his jacket, the long coat billowing behind him. Steve and Sharon look at him in surprise.

“You’re going on this mission, Sir?”

“An old friend of mine has been kidnapped, Rogers. Not only has Margaret Carter done more for this country than most, but she’s been taken by an organisation that will not hesitate to exploit any and all information she contains in her once-sharp mind. _Carter_ ,” He turns, suddenly addressing Sharon again. “Do _not_ underestimate the lengths to which Hydra will go to unlock your aunt’s mind. Do I make myself perfectly clear?” he growls. “Assemble the STRIKE team and meet us at the Quinjet. Rogers, this mission requires the most reliable, effective assets at our disposal. Do you understand me?” Steve and he stare at each other, their conversation silent but unambiguous. He gives the director a nod.

“Good. Then call them in. Tell them to maintain radio silence. We’ve got some heads to cut off.”

* * *

When they’re in the Quinjet headed for the middle of absolutely nowhere, Fury briefs the STRIKE team Sharon’s assembled.

“We believe a resurrected division of Hydra has taken one of our own. Margaret Carter knows more secrets than Google, and a lot of powerful people would do _anything_ to get their hands on that information. We don’t know what surprises they have waiting for us, but to get to her they had to have a lot of power and money at their disposal. Captain?”

He hands Steve the controller for the screen in front of them. He pulls up the dossier they had back in World War II for everyone to see.

“Hydra had weapons of mass destruction _before_ the nuclear bomb was even invented. They are one of the most dangerous organisations that have ever existed. Peggy is in the early stages of dementia. They must believe whatever technologies they have _now_ can somehow override or reverse those effects. Do _not_ underestimate what they are willing to do to protect their technology. Our mission is to rescue Director Carter and dismantle Hydra once and for all.”

The STRIKE team all grunt their agreement.

“Rumlow, you go in with Hill, Rollins, and Morse from East entrance. Stark has supplied SHIELD with these.” He tosses a single device out to each team member. “He called them Electro-magnetic disruptors. Only use them as a last resort. Carter, Martinez, and Goldman and take the North entrance. Fury and I will take the South entrance.”

“All due respect, Director, I’d like to assist on this one as well,” they hear from the cockpit. Fury and Rogers have another silent conversation and agree.

“Coulson, you go in with Carter. The rest of you, get ready to jump.”

“Sir,” Angel Martinez asks, “what about the West entrance?”

Captain America looks at her, giving a quick nod as he straps his shield on his back.

“Don’t worry. I called in backup,” he assures before he jumps out of the plane.

“We get to use parachutes, right?” Benjamin Goldman asks.

“If you insist,” Fury agrees snarkily, following the Captain out of the Quinjet.

* * *

Things seem to be going fairly well, and each team is slowly moving in on the most heavily guarded area of the base.

Steve is able to knock out quite a few Hydra goons with his shield, and Fury takes out his fair share as well. That is, until a shot comes dangerously close to his head. Steve tosses his shield at the newcomer, but it’s unexpectedly caught.

In a metal hand.

He and Fury nod at one another, splitting up and trying to get to the door the intruder is guarding so fiercely. While Steve keeps the guard occupied, Fury does his best to sneak by. But the guard is quick, shooting at him even while fighting Captain America. Fury rushes in to help Rogers fight, but it seems no use. Whatever the masked man is guarding has to be important for him to fight so hard.

He’s now got his gun to Fury’s head and his iron grip around Steve’s neck when suddenly his mask is shot off, catching him off guard.

As he turns to Agent 13, who is still holding her gun in her hand, he hears the Captain give a heartbroken gasp.

“ _Bucky?!”_

Before any of them have time to explore what just happened or who the man is, Carter, Hill, Rumlow, Morse, and Coulson are all rushing past. Rollins, Martinez, and Goldman’s guns are all still trained on the now-unmasked Hydra agent.

“Aunt Peggy?!” Steve hears, finally coming out of the daze of seeing his long-dead best friend again, and it’s enough to have him push past the confused Barnes into the room.

Peggy Carter is in a long, glass tube with an odd contraption in the middle of the room pointing at her, sleeping peacefully.

And looking nearly 70 years younger than she should.

“ _Peg_ ,” Steve whispers, running over to the tube, staring at the face of the woman he’d fallen in love with another lifetime ago.

“Martinez, Goldman, get her out of there,” Fury shouts to the agents closest to the panel he sees the soldier had been guarding, training his own gun on Roger’s long-lost friend. They run over to Peggy’s tube, inspecting it for an opening.

Hill and Rumlow are examining the contraption clearly responsible for Peggy’s current state. Morse is examining the tubes connected to Peggy's tube. Coulson is at the computers trying to search out information on Hydra before corrupting the system. Rollins is setting charges for when the room is clear, and Rogers and Carter have turned back to the soldier- to _Bucky_ \- ready to get answers.

But Hydra hadn’t left their most valuable assets guarded by _this_ lone soldier for nothing. Before anyone has a chance to blink, Bucky charges the panel. Captain America throws his shield, which deflects a couple of bullets from Fury and Carter’s guns, causing them to ricochet around the room. Hill or Rumlow, they can't be sure which, hit _something_ causing the contraption to start beeping. One of the flying bullets strike the control for the explosives in Rollins’ hand, which all simultaneously activate. Coulson sees the multi-coloured lights emitted from the contraption, and tries to find the command codes to deactivate it. Instead, the doors the soldier had been guarding seals everyone in.

Just in time for the contraption to go off.

The room explodes around them a few seconds later.

* * *

* * *

When Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff, The Backup, arrived at the facility, they ran toward what sounded like an explosion.

When they got to what was left of what looked like a sealed room, they both drew their weapons at the movement in the rubble.

They sheathed them at the terrified look in the childrens’ eyes.

All 8 of them.

“What the-“ Natasha muttered.

“ _Help,_ ” was Clint’s whimper as he recognised the gear swaddling each kid.


	2. STRIKE! T...eam?

Clint, who had a rough childhood himself, is wary about handling children. However, his discomfort is nothing to the sheer terror on the Widow’s face when she sees their much younger teammates.

He grabs her hand, getting her attention. When she’s finally able to tear her gaze away from the kids, he meets her eyes and gives her a reassuring nod. They can do this… They _have_ to do this. If the commotion from somewhere above them is any indication, they’ve got about six minutes before more Hydra reinforcements arrive. Without any guarantee they can protect this many vulnerable people without casualties, their best option is to regroup and get the kids out safely before the bad guys arrive.

From what they can tell, an entire section of the large room has been destroyed, and if all the tubing and wires are any indication, it was a section that housed some sort of life support.

They’ll have time to wonder about that later. Now, their mission focus has shifted. They take stock of the approximate ages and needs of each child and quickly make their way forward.

A little girl, around three years old, holds out her hands trustingly towards Clint. He picks up the former… Agent 13 and puts her on his hip. He squats down and holds out his other arm to the two oldest boys, trying to reassure them. The approximately nine-year-old Phil Coulson and seven- or eight-year-old Jack Rollins both carefully hold out their hands, Phil taking his hand and Jack clinging to his arm.

A very small, coughing… Steve Rogers is being blocked by a strange boy that looks to be about the same age as the toddler. When Natasha moves towards the pair, the brunet little boy stands in front of him and shakes his head, reaching out to hold the gasping Steve, trying to keep him calm. A slightly older boy, no more than five years old, aggressively steps in front of the two, his chubby little arms crossed over his chest, daring Natasha to pass him to get to the younger boys. Natasha is worried about Steve, so, against her better judgment, pushes past… Brock Rumlow to pick up the wheezing toddler behind him. 

She looks around, and locates a crouching, seven-year-old Maria Hill, who has straightened up at Natasha’s gentle handling of Steve, offering up… a now shrieking infant who must be the once formidable Nicholas Fury.

Natasha stares in helplessness at Clint, who simply shrugs with his three charges firmly in hand, equally at a loss. She takes a deep breath, Steve’s tiny hand resting on her chest, and she realises he’s trying to follow her breathing. She concentrates on taking deep, slow breaths for his sake as she creeps her way to Maria and Nick. As she bends to take hold of the baby, Maria relinquishes him, grabbing onto her shirt, afraid to be left behind.

The toddler who’d been helping Steve steps to follow them, but Rumlow grabs his top, a fearful gleam in his eye as he stares at the two strange adults. The boy shakes him off to follow after a now only slightly-wheezing Steve, whose head is resting on Natasha’s shoulder. Clint tries to bend again to beckon Brock to him, but it’s not until Jack lets go of Clint’s arm, offering his own small hand to the boy, that Brock is willing to step away from the debris. Clint nods his approval, instructing Phil to grab Jack's other hand in his, and they all quickly make their way out of the destroyed Hydra base.

Their ride in had dropped them, quite literally, a couple miles out, so they head towards the place where Coulson would logically leave the Quinjet.

Hydra spots them as they are boarding, and a couple of them get some good shots in before Clint is able to get them in the sky.

The jet is, fortunately, undamaged enough to carry them away to an old farmhouse Wolverine set up years ago as a safe house, back when he and Clint had first crossed paths. Knowing James Logan Howlett’s occasional desire to get away from his life of herding rugrats, they can be confident that the house is fully stocked. Clint roughly lands the jet, and he and Natasha take a few minutes to assess and regroup.

The mission files indicate three other agents on this mission. Clint looks away when Nat tells him Bobbi Morse, his ex-wife with whom he is- whom he _was_ on good terms, and Ben Goldman had been on this mission as well. Clint had helped recruit Ben off the streets, seeing so much of himself in the delinquent orphan, and the two had ended up friends after they’d established some hard-earned trust.

Natasha closes off her face in a way that means she’s grieving deeply when she reads that Angel Martinez was the last agent on the mission. A woman who had joined up the same time as Natasha, she’d been kind and determined to break through the Black Widow’s hard shell, and had succeeded, before she received news that her whole family had been killed in a car crash and she’d developed a hard shell of her own.

They realise Margaret Carter must have been the reason for the destroyed life support system, and take a moment to process that loss, both for SHIELD, and for Steve, who will have to say goodbye once again to the love of his life. They chose not to mention anything to little Sharon, who seemed more interested in sucking her thumb at the moment, clearly exhausted. For now, the secrets of the former SHIELD Director seem to be permanently lost, which was the primary mission, even though it came at such a steep cost.

The only person on whom they have no data is the last little boy who came with them. A Hydra agent, surely, given where he was found, but that doesn’t explain his connection to Steve, who clearly knows him, if the way he grasped his hand was any indication. They look over his gear, and Natasha drops his too-large vest as though she’s been shocked.

 _“The Winter Soldier,_ ” she signs frantically to Clint in surprise.

“You sure?” he signs back.

She nods, indicating the cut sleeve of his vest, which also holds a specialised gun and knives.

Clint stares at the most feared assassin of the century, who Phil is currently leading in a game of I Spy, along with Steve, Jack, and a reluctant Brock, obviously attempting to distract them from their unfamiliar situation.

Steve keeps referring to the boy as “Bucky,” and Clint and Natasha come to a silent agreement not to bring up his future as a master... killer, social manipulator, murderer. Glass houses and all that.

They get all the kids into the large farmhouse and are able to scrounge up some other clothes for them. They’re still way too large, but at least they’re clean and not covered in bits of Hydra building.

Clint and Natasha play Rock Paper Scissors for who gets to tell Wolverine what the diaper-less Nick did to his flannel shirt. It’s been a long morning, and all the kids have fallen asleep where they are on various sofas and furniture in the front room. Clint grabs the keys by the door and uses Logan’s truck to go get supplies while Natasha keeps watch over the children.

She tries to contact SHIELD, but all the higher-ups are currently napping on the sofa and no one else seems to know anything else about their mission. Meaning, it’s highly classified. Which also means there’s only one person who can be trusted to help them, as loathe as she is to admit it.

* * *

“Tony, it’s Natasha. We have a situation…”

Once he stops laughing, Stark tells her to stay put until he can investigate and figure out a way to re-infiltrate the base so they can reverse whatever has been done to SHIELD’s most elite team.

  
  



	3. Dinner!

Coulson is the first to wake. He looks around eagerly, convinced Clint and Natasha have brought him on some sort of “adventure.” He seems excited to be at… whatever sort of outing he believes this is. Sharon is up not long after, and already curiously searching every square inch of the room they’re in, chattering away to herself as she peers in cupboards and under chairs.

Steve wakes up gasping once again, prompting the Winter Soldier-  _ Bucky _ to sit behind him, his lean little fingers over his friend’s chest as he encourages Steve to breathe in time with him. Brock stares at the display, glaring once more at Clint and Natasha any time they dare approach.

Maria and Jack wake up once Fury starts squirming, the two of them trying to get his attention and putting their faces in close to his, trying to get him to smile. Fury is  _ not _ impressed with their efforts, slapping both of them away from his face and looking around calling, “Dada!”

Clint sees the chaos and immediately calls, “Who wants  _ pizza?! _ ”

* * *

There is a large bench near the table, and the older three kids gather on it obediently when Clint drags it over. He fashions straps out of shirts on the remaining high-back chairs and adds cushions to them for the smaller kids and Nick. 

Natasha hands out juice boxes, while Clint tries to put each of the younger kids in a seat. Brock won’t let Clint near him, so Jack calls him and offers the spot next to him on the bench. Bucky sees this and insists he doesn’t need a “baby seat” either, because he’s big, he’s  _ four _ . He makes sure to emphasise this last point very carefully, lest Clint and Natasha think he’s still little. Steve is about to argue he doesn’t need a baby seat either, until Bucky sits in the chair next to him anyway, but refuses the make-shift strap Clint made.

Nick only stops asking for his “Dada” when someone is holding him, so he’s currently in Natasha’s lap, reaching for a juice box, which he immediately turns upside down to watch all the liquid spill everywhere, giggling the entire time as Natasha’s lap grows wetter and stickier. Sharon is Clint’s little shadow at the moment, and as he passes out pizza, her job is to hand out paper towels. She’s very pleased with herself as Clint straps her into a t-shirted chair next to him.

They’d gotten pizza, thinking it was the easiest meal for such a large group.

They believed that two master spies, soldiers, and part-time superheroes who can defeat alien armies and make the scariest terrorists that Earth had to offer surrender could handle a group of eight of their de-aged peers, no problem.

They. Were. Wrong.

It starts when Maria sneers at her pepperoni pizza, turning and informing Natasha very seriously that meat is murder.

That statement makes Brock slide his own plate quickly away from him as though he is personally responsible for the deaths of livestock everywhere.

Sharon kept tugging at Clint’s shirt, pointing to her pizza and complaining that it has sauce on it. She  _ hates _ sauce.

Phil is nearly done with his pizza when he curls into a ball, clutching his stomach. “I was hungry- but… lactose…”

“ _ Coulson _ ,” Clint mutters, carefully manoeuvring the boy to take him to the toilets, Sharon squirming out of her bonds to follow them.

Steve and Bucky have decided their uneaten crusts make for great swords, and have turned to each other to fight with their makeshift weapons. Jack is watching them, shouting suggestions, before he decides it’s more fun to just eat on the floor on the opposite side of the table with them. Fury starts screaming, tossing his small pieces onto the ground and waving his hands in the air. Natasha is trying to calm him down, and Maria jumps up from her seat and starts dancing and singing loudly, making Nick scream in delight and clap his hands, further ruining Natasha’s lap, and spreading the sauce and grease on the baby’s hands all over her face and top.

“Maria!” Natasha shouts as the room grows louder and louder with each child’s contribution. “ _ Stop helping over here! _ ” 

She’s horrified when that tone quiets the entire table, all the children staring at her as though she’d slapped them. Natasha takes a shaky breath, finally getting Nick’s grubby hands off her face as she stares at the other kids, completely lost. She closes her eyes and compartmentalises. She is Natasha Romanoff. These children are her mission, and for right now, they need her to not fall apart. With the willpower that has seen her through multiple fights, losses, and gunshot wounds, she opens her eyes.

“Maria. I apologise. Thank you for trying to entertain the baby. But you’ll be hungry later if you don’t eat now. There is a plain cheese pizza in the box that was near Jack.” She meets the girl’s eyes, still hurt but trying to hide it. “Could you please also make sure Brock has a piece? We don’t want him to go hungry, either,” she tries, and sees the young girl perk up at having a special job.

“Steve, Bucky,” she continues, turning her gaze to the chastised boys. “Is that the proper way to behave at the table?” She lifts a single eyebrow in a move that has always made Steve’s older self wary.

“No, ma’am,” both boys chorus together, their hands now in their laps, chastised.

“If you can wait here patiently until everyone has finished eating, perhaps we can have pudding with whipped cream for dessert. Would you like that?” she asks them.

“Yes, ma’am!” they shout enthusiastically.

“Jack… it’s easier to eat at a table,” she tries to reason.

“But I  _ like _ it on the floor,” the little boy argues.

“Maybe so. But you need to sit at the table. I’m not asking,” she informs him firmly.

Jack huffs, but he stands up and goes to sit next to Maria again.

Natasha nods, pleased with everyone’s changed demeanour, until she spies Brock at the end opposite her, past Jack. He is still staring at her with a look of pure distrust, even as he accepts a piece of plain cheese pizza from Maria’s hands. She has no idea how to change that look.

* * *

Clint stays with Phil, rubbing his belly and back as his body decides how to handle the foreign substance in it. He is quick to pick up little Sharon when Phil whips his head around and asks for privacy and he hustles them out the door, pulling it shut behind him.

As he unfortunately hears, then even more unfortunately smells, Phil’s predicament, he and Sharon go in search of any Bismuth Subsalicylate. Sharon has apparently decided Clint is her personal jungle gym and entertainer, and is quite enjoying climbing all over him, making various funny faces at him whenever she meets his eyes.

He starts making funny faces back, causing the little girl to squeal in delight.

When the three of them get back into the kitchen, everyone seems happy and is quietly eating pudding. 

Phil sits in the vacated chair next to Clint, leaning on him as Clint rubs his back in sympathy. He smiles down at Sharon in his lap, tickling her once more as Natasha, who apparently doesn’t even realise she’s gotten pizza sauce on her face, presents Sharon with a small bowl of pudding as well.

Clint grins.

Kids are easy.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was going to give Steve a food allergy (this would have still been in the "roaring 20's" era for him and Bucky, so they could have known abundance), but when I was researching, I found out food allergies didn't start really being a thing (other allergies yes, food, not as much) until the 60's when allergies had some real research, and today's common food allergies didn't really start until the 90's. So... that's interesting.


	4. Bathtime!

Bath time turns out to be even more eventful than dinner time. Phil and Maria can both shower by themselves, while Jack still needs help with water temperature and shampoo.

As Natasha helps Maria dry her hair, Clint fills up the tub for the four younger children. Phil and Jack play a game of Cowboy vs. Han Solo and watch Fury in the den, with the couches and chairs and cushions all stacked up to make a large, makeshift baby cage for the… Director of SHIELD.

Turns out, just because the baby hasn’t quite gotten the hang of walking on his own yet, that doesn’t mean he isn’t exploring his ability to climb. At the loud  _ crash _ from the den, Natasha and Maria come running, Nat shouting to Clint to stay with the others and not follow. Brock has run out as well, hugging Jack’s leg as Natasha races to pick up the screaming infant. Phil is looking penitent and trying to search Nick for any signs of bruises or bleeding. Natasha shakes her head at the worried boys, an instinct she didn’t know she possessed guiding her to gently rock the baby in her arms, using soothing words and rubbing his back.

She keeps her voice much calmer than she feels as she absolves the young boys of their guilt, reminding them they did nothing wrong, and this was most definitely  _ not their fault. _ Nick was apparently just scared, as he nuzzles into her neck, finally shuddering himself quiet, before looking down at the building blocks in each boys’ hand and asking, “My bock?”

Natasha gasps a sigh of relief as she smiles at Nick. She hands him a large block while she shows him to each of the boys and Maria, and then stares at a still-scared Brock, squatting all the way down and presenting Nick for his inspection. The five-year-old keeps his eyes on her as he inches his way forward, finally looking down when he’s right next to Natasha to ensure the baby in her hands is all right.

“ _ Nose!” _ Nick squeals, his pudgy arm shooting out for Brock’s face when he gets close enough, making the boy jump back before he giggles in delight. He gets close again, shooting another glance at Natasha before reaching out and pretending to get Nick’s nose in return, making the baby shriek happily.

Natasha pats the older boys on the head and prompts Maria to join them. She instantly becomes a Pink Power Ranger in their odd little game, and Natasha stands, still holding Fury, to help Clint with the other children.

She reaches out a hand, waiting, not demanding, as she walks down the hall. She feels Brock’s fingers reach for hers before he changes his mind again.

Still. She smiles as she looks down at him walking beside her.

* * *

Clint has decided that the other three kids should play submarine in their bubble bath. What he hasn’t taken into account is how slippery wet toddlers are. As he tries to catch Steve to wipe him down, his hands slip on the little boy’s tiny arm, and he trips, ending up soaked with bathwater himself. Instead of feeling bad about Clint’s drenched state, however, the three toddlers apparently agree that he needs to be even  _ more _ wet, and they then proceed to take part in a joint effort to get as much bathwater out of the tub and onto their temporary caretaker as possible.

Every time Clint whines, “Aww, pants, no!” they just giggle harder, making waves as they splash and splash. He watches as Bucky eggs on the other two, raising his little hands higher and higher over his head as his hands shoot down, and he pokes the boy in the side, watching his face contort with laughter as he urges Sharon to try next.

When Natasha comes back in with Nick and Brock, Clint has bubbles all over his hair, a floor that has been flooded, and three toddlers who maybe have or maybe haven’t been scrubbed down. She takes in the state of her partner and makes the dire mistake of snorting. Quietly.

Still, Clint catches the action and glares up at her, reached past Bucky to unplug the drain, and then turns swiftly and grabs his partner, baby and all, into his arms, rubbing as much water on her and sharing his misery as she swats at him with a shriek, trying to push him away without dislodging Fury between them.

Only when he feels a tiny fist swing at his shoulder does he cease his bathwater assault, and he looks at the defiant little Brock beside him, his fists still clenched as he prepares to continue defending Natasha. 

Clint recognises something familiar in the little boy, and he immediately, and exaggeratedly, opens his hands, releasing Nat and taking a large step back. Brock swallows, visibly nervous, but stands in front of Natasha and Fury, ready to ensure Clint comes no nearer. Clint is sure to keep facing the boy and his partner before he again, with slow, exaggerated movements, turns on the shower. He quickly detaches the shower head and sprays the three kids down, freeing them of any bubble residue, before he turns the water off and starts reaching for towels.

He hands off each towel-wrapped child to Natasha, re-filling the tub before reaching for Fury. Brock watches him very closely, then begins to take off his own clothes, now apparently worried most about the baby. However, just as Clint lowers the baby into the warm water, everyone hears a loud noise, followed by a giggle from the mischievous infant.

“Aw, bathtub, no!”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact for those who haven't had this particular heart attack yet: even if babies can't crawl, they can still roll. And even if they only crawl, they still try to climb stairs, or over pillows meant to keep them on the bed or sofa. Watchful eyes, people. Watchful eyes.


	5. Sleep!...?

After all the kids are clean, Clint and Natasha are faced with a new dilemma- how do they clean  _ themselves? _

Natasha has Fury’s dinner all over her and Clint has Fury’s… after dinner all over him, and both would really, really love a shower right now.

They finally come up with the ingenious plan of just putting the children in front of the television for a couple of minutes while they each get ten minutes max to wash, dry, and dress.

Turns out, ten minutes can be a Very. Long. Time.

First, Steve has to go potty. Then, Sharon has to. Phil is still dealing with effects from dinner. Fury needs to be changed again. 

Jack is asking loud questions every two seconds and rubbing his eyes, standing up and running around the room or shouting while the film is going. Sharon is hungry again. Maria follows up any answers to Jack’s questions with, “Why?” And Bucky has to go doo-doo and needs help wiping. Brock is following Jack on wobbly, weary legs, knocking into the other children and the sofas as often as not.

After the longest 20 minutes in the history of time, Clint and Natasha shuffle everyone off to bed.

Steve, Bucky, and Brock are all tucked into the same queen bed.

Phil and Jack share a full.

Sharon is meant to share with Maria, but Maria insists she’s too big to share with babies, which makes Sharon pout because she’s a big girl now. She hasn’t wet the bed in almost a whole week. Upon hearing this… happy news, Clint and Natasha agree to put Sharon in a sleeping bag on the floor of their room with a rug on top of a plastic bag. Nick is in a crib Clint picked up when he went for supplies. Tomorrow, they are going to need to get night-time disposable underwear for the littler kids. And some more Pink Bismuth and lactaid for Phil. And a sippy cup for Nick. And… and… and…

Clint and Natasha collapse into the last king-sized bed together, exhausted.

* * *

Clint is woken a few hours later by the sound of Natasha’s voice… singing. He blearily smiles as he watches this  _ amazing _ woman he’s always loved as she gently paces back and forth, rocking a softly sobbing baby back to sleep. Nick is nuzzling her neck as she just patiently and dutifully walks to and fro, her voice bringing a soothing comfort to the room.

Finally, she notices him watching. He gives her a slow, sleepy, enamoured smile.

“Looks good on you,” he offers.

She smiles back, then sighs sadly, and goes back to her song.

When Nick is finally asleep again, she lays him back down in his bed, kissing his forehead and caressing his soft little ear.

Clint opens his arms, ready to snuggle in the secret way Natasha loves.

She keeps her head on his chest, her voice soft and slightly broken when she finally speaks.

“It’s not real, Clint. It won’t  _ ever _ be real. We- I won’t ever be able to give you a family.”

Clint strokes his hand back and forth down her arm, offering her what comfort he can for this long-felt loss. He kisses her forehead gently, squeezing her closer to himself.

“You already gave me a family, Tasha.  _ You _ are my family. That’s- it would have been nice, if we weren’t who we are - if life was different - to expand, sure. But you and me.  _ We _ make our own family. And I wouldn’t trade that for all the best bow upgrades Tony can offer.”

She snorts, her arm squeezing his middle tighter.

“What about Shuri?” she signs when she catches his eye again, knowing how bone tired he must be by now.

“Hmm, well, in that case …” he pretends to consider, closing his eyes as he debates. Natasha pokes him in retaliation. He flinches, then lifts her chin up to kiss away the hurts neither of them can ever fix.

* * *

The next time Clint wakes, Steve is at his bedside.

“I miss my Ma!” the little boy wails. Clint sees Nick and Sharon stirring and tries to quiet him, but he has no luck until a sniffling Bucky comes in and stands on the opposite side of Steve, poking him for his attention before pointing to the other little kids in the room and pressing a finger to his lips.

Huh.

Apparently Cap also had difficulty hearing. Which also explains why his older self often tries to sign with Clint. Not, as Clint had previously assumed, to patronise him or use him as some sort of guinea pig in another of his “lessons about the future.”

Clint reaches down for the toddler, holding the little boy to his chest as he also takes in the tears in Bucky’s eyes.

“You missin’ your ma, too?” he asks gently.

Bucky scrubs his sleeve under his nose as he nods, before he adds, “And… Becca.”

Clint has no idea who “Becca” is, but he’d barely met the Winter Soldier this morning so that’s understandable. He bends and picks up Bucky as well, placing both toddlers between him and Natasha, creating a barrier between them and their homesickness.

When Coulson comes in, laying down to snuggle up to Sharon on the floor, Clint watches as a sleepy Tasha walks around, tucking a blanket around the boy’s shoulders before she pauses, lifting an eyebrow as Maria stumbles in, burrowing next to Coulson before Natasha lays the blanket over them both.

Jack comes and makes himself at home at the foot of Clint and Natasha’s bed, not bothering to hide his intentions as he lifts their covers and accepts the pillow Clint offers, scooting back against their feet.

Unsurprisingly, it is Brock who straggles in last, his observant, sleepy eyes taking in the other children resting safely all around Clint and Natasha. He approaches the bed, where Steve is cuddled to Clint’s side and Bucky to Natasha’s, and a wistful look passes over his young face, crushed a few moments later as he struggles with some internal debate.

Clint is just about to extend a slow hand out to the boy when Jack snuffles, calling “C’mere” as he holds the blanket up at the end of the bed for the little boy to curl up beside him. The last thing Clint sees before he falls once again into an exhausted slumber is the quiet smile curling around Natasha’s mouth.


	6. Break the Fast!

The bony foot of a very young Captain America kicking into his full bladder wakes Clint up the next morning.

He and Natasha have to perform acrobatics worthy of his old circus days to extract themselves from the bed and manoeuvre around all the little bodies laid throughout their room.

Learning from the Fury Sofa incident yesterday, Clint and Natasha surround Steve and Bucky with pillows to ensure no one falls off the bed in their sleep.

Nick is starting to stir and whimper, so Clint goes straight to pick him up before he wakes anyone else. He and Natasha take turns completing their morning ablutions, passing the baby between the two of them before making their way to the kitchen to set up for breakfast.

Clint finds Wolverine’s toaster and Natasha finds his bowls.

Once a stack of toast with jam is laid out and eight bowls ready for cereal are set up, Natasha goes to the room to take Sharon and Steve to the potty, reassure Maria and Bucky they haven’t been left behind again, and tell the others breakfast is ready.

Once again, breakfast is a bit of an event.

Sharon only wants to eat the marshmallows in her cereal.

Coulson tries to convince her to eat by eating some of the cereals himself, sans milk. It doesn’t convince her.

Jack refuses to stay sitting for the whole meal, frequently taking a bite and walking around the table, chattering with each of the children he crosses.

Clint is pouring cereal and milk in each of the bowls, but Steve shouts because he can do it himself- he’s not a baby.

Brock won’t touch the cereal once Clint hands it to him.

Maria has decided to get some answers today, and proceeds to ask a thousand questions.

Fury has once again decided the most effective method of eating is to stick his whole messy fist in his mouth, cough a bit when he stuffs too much in, and toss cereal into the air in glee.

Natasha watches in amusement as Clint is blindsided by all the problems she’d already overcome the night before, and she stops him as she sees him reach discretely to turn down his hearing aid.

“Eat this,” she instructs him, putting a bowl of cereal in front of him. He takes a bite immediately. She then very blatantly puts that same bowl in front of Brock, who watches the entire exchange. Clint’s heart breaks for the small boy who immediately starts to eat.

“Jack,” she calls firmly. “Sit and eat. You don’t have permission to get up again until all your food is gone.”

The little boy pouts but goes to sit at the table, stuffing a spoonful of cereal into his mouth obediently.

She shakes the box of cereal, catching Maria’s eye with a wink as she pours some in a bowl and hands it to her very flagrantly. Maria smiles, shooting a quick look at Steve.

“ _ Thank you for pouring for me, Miss Natasha,” _ Maria says loudly.

Steve allows Clint to pour him a bowl after that.

Clint stops Phil from trying to bribe Sharon with something that could hurt his own tummy as he gets closer and closer to adding milk just to match her, instead cutting a piece of toast into small pieces and offering that to the picky eater.

Phil is then able to bite into his own toast happily, making funny noises with his mouth, prompting the toddler to copy all of his ridiculous noises and movements with a giggle.

Natasha watches Fury with a smile, taking some of his cereal away, rationing out how much she puts in front of him based on how much actually makes it into his mouth.

Clint looks at her, besotted. Though she knows his aids are still on, he still signs to her, “I love you.”

Steve catches the movement with excitement and immediately proceeds to attempt a very long signing conversation with one of the few adults he’s met who understands.


	7. Undry these tears...

After breakfast, they spend a while getting all the kids washed up and dressed for the day. When Clint is focused on changing Sharon, Steve, and Bucky, Natasha grabs Nick and Maria and heads back out to the store for all those things they didn’t know they’d need when they brought a group of children to a safe house.

Once everyone is dressed, Jack asks if they can play tag, and immediately runs to tag Clint. Clint turns to the child slowly, one eyebrow raised. Jack smiles a wide, excited grin, which Clint matches right before he lunges after the boy. All the kids start screaming, taking off in separate directions as they all try to get away from the now-roaring Clint.

Steve grabs Sharon’s hand and the two of them run down the hall. Bucky follows Phil to the living room. Jack takes off on his own, while Brock tries to follow Bucky and Phil. Clint is “running” after Bucky and Brock when Steve and Sharon hustle behind him, each throwing themselves around one of his legs, forcing Clint to drag around a giggling toddler on each foot. Phil is able to help Bucky climb on the large set of shelves against the wall, turning back for Brock.

As Jack weaves back and forth, trying to divert Clint’s attention, Brock climbs up the shelves, sitting beside Bucky. Clint lunges forward for Phil, but Bucky and Jack jump on his back at the same time, sending Clint down under the combined weight of four delighted, cackling children. He rolls carefully, making sure he doesn’t injure Steve or Sharon, and starts blindly tickling any child he can get his hands on.

Phil runs over and starts a counter attack on Clint, who is swinging his arms side to side, trying to control the chaos. Even Brock comes in, trying to find the spots on Clint’s sides that make him squeak.

Unfortunately, Jack gets over enthusiastic, running forward and pushing the small Steve out of the way, making the boy fall on his elbow and cry out in pain. Bucky gets angry and turns and socks Jack in the shoulder in retaliation. Hard. Jack lashes out without thinking about it, shoving the four-year-old down before Phil grabs his hands and pulls them back. Jack shakes his head and looks at the crying Bucky, who has fallen down on the floor, and his face becomes mortified.

Steve gets up and is about to defend his friend’s honour when Clint finally manages to get to his feet, yelling, “NO!”

He raises his hand in time to keep Steve’s little fist from making contact, and he sees Brock recoil in fear out of the corner of his eye. Sharon is hanging around Clint’s neck, though he can’t tell whether she’s still playing or seeking comfort at the moment. Phil is trying to pull Jack away from everyone, and Clint turns to him, shaking his head firmly to keep the boy from pulling Jack anymore.

He kneels down in front of the toddlers, deciding to triage the situation.

“Steve, are you okay?” he asks, inspecting the little boy’s elbow. There’s a small cut, but nothing serious.

Steve nods. “He hurt Bucky,” he argues petulantly.

“Yeah, but it’s  _ my  _ job to deal with that, not yours.” He picks Steve up and takes him to wash and bandage the cut.

“And he  _ did _ push Steve,” the sniffling Bucky reminds him.

Clint lowers Steve to the ground, grabbing a tissue and wiping Bucky’s face carefully.

“Yeah, Buddy, I know. But listen, you two- it’s nice to stick up for our friends, but we don’t have to hit people to get our point across.”

“I didn’t mean  _ toooo!!! _ ” a distraught Jack wails.

“I know,” Clint sighs. “Hey,” he addresses Bucky and Steve, “Why don’t you guys take a minute on the couch? I’ll put on a cartoon.” He hugs each of them tightly, then he disentangles Sharon from around his neck, sitting her next to them.

He sends Phil to watch the cartoon with the others and turns to Jack, pulling him to the side, the hair on the back of his neck prickling when he notices Brock curled up in a tight ball, hiding in the corner. Clint is careful to keep Jack in Brock’s line of sight, and squats down to speak to the crying seven-year-old.

Brock’s terrified little eyes track every movement of Clint’s hands as he puts them on Jack’s shoulders, lifting one to wipe at his tears.

“It’s fun to play, and it’s fun to jump and scream and run. But if we don’t pay attention, other people can get hurt, right?” The little boy nods. “Now, I’m not angry that you accidentally hurt Steve, but I am concerned you pushed Bucky. Hitting someone who is younger and smaller than us is  _ never _ okay. Do you understand?” Jack nods again, still sniffing, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

“Okay.” Clint nods. “Now, that was wrong, even though he did hit you, you are seven and Bucky and Steve are still little. I want you to sit in this corner for a couple of minutes and cool down, maybe think about ways to make it up to them, okay?”

Jack nods again, still whimpering, as he scoots across the floor to the indicated corner.

Clint sits near the trembling Brock, who is staring after Jack and still curled in a tight little ball.

“Hey,” Clint offers, keeping his hands open in his lap. “Even if he  _ had _ meant to hurt them, that still doesn’t mean I am ever,  _ ever _ going to raise my hands to him. Okay?” he looks into the boy’s wet eyes, hoping he’ll believe him but remembering the doubt and distrust that even now plagues him because of just one man’s actions. Brock nods his head, just barely, but his breathing is still erratic.

“And, besides, I know Natasha would kick my behind if she ever found out I even  _ thought _ of hurting one of you,” he adds.

Eventually, Jack has calmed down, and Clint, who is still sitting on the floor just a few feet from away, opens his arms. The little boy runs to him, and Clint hugs him tightly, rubbing his back and telling him it’s okay.

Jack finally stands and goes over to Bucky and Steve, offering an apology and an offer to help them build the highest block tower they can. Clint watches with a smile on his face and scoots to sit in front of the couch, smiling when Sharon climbs down to sit in his lap. Eventually, Brock makes his tentative way over, and Clint feels an overwhelming sense of victory when Brock sits in the V of Clint’s legs, carefully leaning back against him.

By the time Natasha returns with a very talkative Maria and a binky-sucking Fury wearing a onesie with “Chicks Dig Me” on it, complete with baby chicks scattered around, Clint is gently running a hand through a mostly-relaxed Brock’s hair, Jack has Steve and Bucky cuddled on either side of him, and Sharon has her head in Phil’s lap, watching the screen quietly.


	8. Tatata ta tatata ta tatata...

They have a bit more of a routine by lunchtime, and this time when Jack stands up and starts walking around the table Phil tugs on Clint’s arm.

“My sister does that when she has too much energy,” he confides. Clint takes in Jack’s movements, his inability to stop squirming even when Natasha gets him to sit back down, the way he was constantly moving even when building that tower with Bucky and Steve, and something finally clicks.

Clint remembers conversations with Jack, knows he’d left home early and had tried to avoid the system as staunchly as Clint had. They had bonded over frustrated parents and teachers who liked using words like “nuisance,” although, Jack had admitted, unlike Clint, those accusations were usually warranted. Clint’s father had thought  _ everyone  _ was a bother. Jack… he apparently alway had a hard time following directions, or sitting still, or paying attention. But, just like Clint’s own father, Jack’s had also… decided liberal,  _ angry  _ use of the belt was warranted to “fix his troublesome” son.

“We need to give Jack a focused outlet,” he murmurs to Natasha. She looks at Clint, who indicates the still-full plate in front of a very talkative Jack. Her eyes narrow, and suddenly, understanding fills her expression as well.

So, after lunch, they take the kids outside. They make a small obstacle course for all of them to run, with different paths depending on their age. Clint instructs Jack to run it five times, as opposed to the other kid’s three.

After she dutifully runs her three laps, Maria comes to the squirming Nick, who wants to play on the course as well. She helps him toddle along, while Phil encourages Bucky, Steve, Sharon, and Brock on their course.

Jack finally finishes his laps, then runs up the porch to pant next to Clint, his face bright red.

Clint smiles.

“Feel better?” he asks.

Jack nods.

“Sometimes I feel like I have bugs under my skin.”

“And they’re running through your body but have nowhere to go?” Natasha asks, understanding his description of adrenaline. The little boy nods, focused in a way he hasn’t been since they found him. Clint and Natasha share a look, and Natasha reaches out and playfully ruffles Jack’s hair.

Clint claps him on the shoulder, then jumps up and goes to grab Bucky and Brock’s hands, guiding them through their final lap of the course while Phil follows behind with Sharon and Steve, Maria trailing last with Fury.

When all the kids finally finish their laps, ambling tiredly to the porch, Clint and Natasha lock eyes and silently agree: NAPTIME!!

They set Jack, Maria, and Phil in the den with books, and take all the younger kids to their beds, tucking them in as they each fall quickly asleep.

Just as quiet falls around them for the very first time during this whole adventure, Iron Man bursts through the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My own humble offering if you are with an already bored child with ADD/ADHD during a pandemic: obstacle courses, trampolines, burpees, and indoor scavenger hunts on colder days are life-savers.


	9. Saved You First

Tony explains how he and Rhodey infiltrated the Hydra base. They were able to reverse-engineer the de-aging machine, but they weren’t able to remove the machine from the base’s power source in a quick manner, so they have no chance but to take the kids back there if they want their adult selves back. Once they have sufficient back-up, they can figure out how to disconnect the machine and he can investigate the science in his lab.

“Though,” he remarks, staring at the much-younger Agent Coulson, “this  _ could _ be a more interesting way to go.”

Just then, Fury wakes up from his nap. Loudly.

Clint runs to go get him, bringing the semi-awake baby into the kitchen to offer him a snack.

Tony’s eyes widen at the sight of the Director chomping on a handful of Goldfish, and he starts cackling loudly. Natasha claps her hand over his mouth, warning him about waking the others.

Tony takes out his phone and begins snapping pictures.

“Pepper is never going to believe this,” he chuckles joyfully.

Clint and Natasha instruct the older kids to begin packing up, going quietly into the other rooms and gathering supplies, leaving a very amused Tony to continue feeding Nick Fury applesauce.

As the other kids begin to rouse, Tony continues taking more photos, especially treasuring the ones of a tiny Cap with bedhead, scratching his behind.

He seems blindsided when Sharon walks right up to him, holding her arms out, and his face is downright terrified as he picks up the little girl. Clint and Natasha use the opportunity to take some photos of their own.

They load the children on the plane, Sharon still clinging to Tony and Maria and Jack asking enough questions to overwhelm even him.

* * *

When they make it back to the damaged base, Rhodey is there in his War Machine armour, guarding the landing area so he can help get the kids to the gadget that started this whole adventure. The base seems fairly empty, though there are a few buildings still standing. Each adult is charged with two children: Clint holds Steve and clasps Brock’s hand; Natasha is carrying Nick and Bucky is riding piggy-back; Tony still has Sharon and leads Phil, and Rhodey brings up the rear, urging Maria and Jack in front of him.

The adults take out the few hostiles they encounter, turning the children or covering their eyes as necessary, until they’re finally standing in the remainder of the room with the de-aging gadget.

Tony puts Sharon down and walks up to it, instructing Clint and Natasha make sure all of the kids are around the machine. Clint gives Brock an encouraging smile as he looks back uncertainly, and Natasha nods, reassuring the little boy that he’ll be safe. The others seem to trust the couple when they say to stand by the machine. Tony instructs Clint and Natasha to go with Rhodey behind all the rubble as he re-activates his armour, since the machine seems to affect anyone the rays touch once it gets going.

Clint and Natasha hug each of the children tightly, turning away in a manner that hurts far more than it should after as little time as they’ve had them for, and follow Rhodey behind a large section of wall.

Natasha grabs Clint’s arm reflexively when she hears Nick give a cry, then they see a series of light flashes and the cry stops.

Clint licks his lips, preparing himself to see whether or not it worked when they both hear a very familiar gruff voice.

“Romanoff, what the  _ heck _ am I wearing?!”

They both rush around the wall, staring at their fully-grown teammates once more, including a much-older Nick Fury still sporting a larger “Chicks dig me” onesie.

Before they have a chance to laugh, all of them duck at the sound of gunfire.

“Asset,” a Hydra goon calls, “you’ve cornered most of the Avengers. Good work.”

Bucky, the  _ Winter Soldier _ once again, stares ahead at the Hydra soldiers. He looks back at Steve and Brock and Sharon and all the people he’s spent the last two days with, and steps menacingly in front of them, a guard rather than a threat.

“Soldier, take down the STRIKE team, leave the Avengers to us,” the Hydra Commander calls.

Bucky doesn’t budge.

“Soldier-“

“ _ That. Is not my name _ ,” he growls.

“Soldi-“

“Clint,” the Winter Soldier sasses back to the group, “I know you said hitting was bad, but-“

“It’s okay to make an exception this time,” Hawkeye assures, already nocking an arrow.

“Good,” replies Captain America, who’s already swinging the shield Iron Man returned to him, “Because these guys hurt Bucky.”

They’re able to take out most of the goons, until one gets lucky and gets close enough to speak debilitating words to the Winter Soldier, who crumbles to the floor, clutching his head. Four guns are pointed at Bucky before any of the STRIKE team or Avengers can react.

“Don’t worry, Avengers,” the slimy Commander taunts. “We’ll raise you right, this time. You’ll still be super. It’ll just be in the service of Hydra.” He moves toward the machine.

Clint catches Cap’s eye, signing quickly. Captain America merely blinks in acknowledgement.

“Now!” Clint shouts, shooting the machine at the same time Cap swings his shield, disarming the agents surrounding their friend.

The machine squeaks ominously, its internal mechanism glowing, before it shudders and dies.

The Hydra Commander shouts, beginning to scream different words, re-activating the Winter Soldier, when he feels a gun aimed at his own head.

“ _ Bobbi! _ ” Clint shouts, relieved to see his ex-wife healthy and very much alive.

“Please tell me you can fix that machine, Anthony,” Steve hears a familiar voice plead.

_ “Peggy,” _ he breathes, rushing forward and hugging her tightly.

Tony kicks the remnants of the machine, disappointed.

“Sorry, Aunt Peg. It’s programmed to self-destruct once removed from here, and now the components I’d need to counteract that command are a bit… holey.”

She smiles at Steve, patting his face fondly.

“Well then, this’ll be very awkward to explain to my grandchildren,” she laughs, reaching up and pulling Steve down for a kiss.

“I think they’ll get over it, Aunt Peg,” Sharon says, making her way to her aunt. Peggy reaches out and grabs her, hugging her niece tightly.

“Thank you for coming for me, my darling.”

“Well, it’s all well and good for you, but that means we can’t change back Martinez and Goldman,” Bobbi tells her.

“What?!” Natasha asks excitedly, realising her teammates and friends are still alive.

Bobbi goes back to the rubble she and Peggy came from, pulling out two toddlers wearing clothes far too large for them.

“What’s to happen to them?” Peggy asks, grabbing the baby girl and hugging her to her chest.

“I’m afraid SHIELD isn’t set up to raise children,” adult Agent Coulson laments. “I assure you, Director Carter, we’ll find them good homes.”

“I think I might have an opinion about that,” Director Fury interjects, taking another look at his onesie.

“Romanoff. Barton. How would you feel about another long-term assignment?”

Clint and Natasha stare at him, then look at each other, again conversing in their infamous silent language. Natasha’s lips quirk in a small smile.

“It’d be our pleasure, Sir,” Clint answers, his own smile blinding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, their original gear didn't shrink with them. Yes, their children's clothes grew with them. Why? Because of reasons... and so we can all laugh at adult Nick Fury sporting a onsie and finding a binky clipped to it as well.


	10. And They Lived...

“Nat, can you come get Angel? Ben just threw his juice again,” Clint calls from the kitchen.

Natasha had gone to open the door, and is surprised to see Brock and Jack standing there with bags in their hands.

She steps aside to let them in.

Behind them, Steve and Peggy are coming up the steps, followed by Sharon, Maria, and Coulson. Fury and Bucky come in last, Fury with an encouraging hand on a shy Bucky’s shoulder, Bobbi on his other side.

“What’s this?” Natasha asks everyone as they crowd into the den. Clint comes out of the kitchen holding both kids, his shirt dripping with a juice spot.

“We, uh- we wanted to say… thanks. For everything, you know,” Steve begins.

“You… you took care of us. Made us feel… like people… wanted,” Bucky adds quietly.

“Safe,” Brock agrees.

“Loved,” says Jack.

“Capable,” murmurs Coulson.

“Yeah, yeah, you helped us all out when we needed it,” Fury declares. “But now you have your own family to keep raising, so we decided to help out with that.”

“It’s a baby shower.” Maria rolls her eyes at everyone’s lack of explanation.

“I ordered pizza,” Sharon says. “Don’t worry, one has no sauce and the other is a vegetarian special,” she explains with a teasing smile.

Clint and Natasha each hold one of their kids in their lap, opening gifts and laughing at the inspiration behind most of them, also catching up on what has been happening at the office since they went on parental leave.

“Barnes here is going to be in surveillance,” Fury says proudly, patting Bucky on the back again. Bucky’s smile is small but pure.

“I’da thought you would have been a sniper for STRIKE,” Clint prods.

“I… ugh… I don’t want to kill anymore,” he says quietly. “’Sides, this way, I can spend all day telling other people to deal with anyone who pushes Steve down,” he jokes.

“And I won’t have to hit anyone for taking a whack at my friend,” Steve answers, his hand on Peggy’s thigh.

“It’s about time,” Natasha points to his hand, which bears a matching ring to the one on Peggy’s own.

“You’re telling me,” Peggy replies, pulling her husband in for a kiss.

Jack is starting to fidget, a habit no one but Coulson and Fury had noticed before, so Clint asks him if he would like to take Ben into the room to build a block tower. Angel wants to go as well, so Bobbi offers to take her so they can both play with the kids.

Sharon, it seems, is a lot more tactile in private, if the way she casually lays her head on Clint’s shoulder or puts her feet in Bucky’s lap or runs her fingers absently through Natasha’s hair is any indication.

Eventually, once Angel and Ben decide they’re too tired to play and Jack and Bobbi have reluctantly handed the toddlers back to their new parents, everyone shuffles out, thanking Clint and Natasha again, telling them they’ll see them in a couple of weeks when they return to work.

Brock is the last to leave, lingering just inside while everyone bids their goodbyes.

“I- I got out, eventually,” he informs them. “Jack and I met when we were teens. Ran away and joined up with a… pretty bad crew. Then Sitwell found us. Recruited us.” He nods, not meeting their eyes. “Started writing our own stories,” he says. He looks at the toddlers in Clint and Natasha’s arms. “They won’t have to do that,” he proclaims with confidence. “Not this time. Not with you two. You-” He smiles. “Thank you. Both.”

Clint reaches out a hand, patting Rumlow on the shoulder.

Rumlow nods again.

“Well. See ya,” he says, before turning and walking out.

They close the door, and Clint is surprised at how close Natasha is when he turns back around.

“Uh-“

She kisses him, long and lingering, then presses her forehead against his.

“Thanks for being my family, Clint,” she whispers, before turning to put their daughter to bed.

* * *

* * *

The phone ringing wakes Clint up a few nights later.

“Barton, what did you do to my house?!” he hears the growl of the Wolverine.

“And  _ what _ is this on my favourite flannel shirt?!” 


End file.
